Chip and Joanna Gaines just celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary, and they say they are stronger than ever, both physically and as a couple.
And while life with five kids, multiple businesses and a new TV show for Joanna certainly keep the couple busy, they’ve taken the time to get creative on how to keep their marriage as fresh as the day they first said “I Do.”
That includes working out together.
In an upcoming podcast, Chip and Joanna Gaines sit down with their trainer, Don Saladino to talk about not just health and fitness, but their relationship as well.
In a post on Joanna’s Instagram page, she writes, “We are so proud of you @donsaladino!
Thank you for seeking out these conversations about health and fitness and all the insecurities and misconceptions that go with it. Chip and I are one year into working with you and we’re stronger in every way because of it.”
Chip and Jo even trusted Saladino enough to hand the reins of a gym renovation over to him, just showing up for the reveal.
The pair have been working out together since last September and are seeing big changes in their energy and their relationship.
In January, Joanna put up a post on Instagram revealing that she and Chip started working out together. In the caption, she wrote, “For the first time in our marriage, Chip and I decided to work out together. We started working w/ our friend @donsaladino in September and when he asked me to do push-ups on our first day I said, “I can’t. My back.”
A few months in and I’ve never felt stronger. Today I did FIFTY push-ups! So I’m celebrating and putting this out there… I’ve let time, age, injury, and busyness be my excuse of why not to workout. I’m finally over the “it’s too hard” hump and I’m ready to go! Who’s with me?!”
Trying New Things Helps Keep Spark Alive
Chip and Joanna Gaines are using those new muscles not just in the gym but on the dance floor!
According to People, the fancy footwork is also helping the pair keep that spark alive.
“What we’ve realized in 22 years of marriage . . . is we still feel like newbies. Anytime you unlock a new thing, and you do it together, it only grows your relationship,” Joanna told People.
Joanna posted a video on Instagram to celebrate the couple’s anniversary on May 31. In it, you can see Chip and Jo taking dance lessons, whirling, twirling and Texas two-stepping in a large, open room with concrete floors.
In the caption, Joanna writes, “❤️ T W E N T Y T W O Y E A R S ❤️ We’ve loved turning our date nights into dance nights. We are going to need quite a few more lessons but this is so much fun! Thanks for you patience, @dancewaco 😉” Under the video, George Strait’s “I Just Want to Dance With You” plays.
Chip Gaines Admits Dance Lessons Felt ‘Awkward’ At First
In the People cover story, Joanna explains that she got the ball rolling on getting Chip to hit the dance floor.
“I hired this couple; they came to our office and taught us how to dance,” she says.
But Chip wasn’t into right away, he admits, saying, “Just she and I with this couple. You talk about awkward.”
Ultimately, though, the dance lessons showed them each a side of the other they hadn’t seen before.
“You see insecurities, you see strengths, and it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a new awakening,’” Joanna explained.
The dance lessons also brought a lot of laughter to the relationship. “Chip’s little feet trying to keep up! And then I’m stiff as a board. We’re just so bad,” Joanna laughed about the lessons.
Chip, as usual, kept a sense of humor about himself. And though he swears he’s a “smooth” country dancer, Chip says during these dance lesson he would experience this “awkward thing” where his ankle “wants to kick itself out.” Even worse, he tripped Joanna!
“All this time I thought I was the coolest two-stepper. Back in college you’d go to these little dive bars, and you danced with the girls,” Chip said. Feeling cool was harder to come by this time. Chip explained, “For this guy to be calling me out, for Jo to be laughing hysterically the whole time, I’m like, ‘What is happening?’”
Chip & Joanna Say Dancing Helps Them Stay in Sync
The dance lessons ended up teaching Chip and Joanna Gaines about more than just the two-step.
Chip told People that at the beginning of the lessons, “We didn’t know how to hold our hands. It’s hard to make eye contact with even your best friend and wife of 22 years. I feels really strange, awkward. But then after two or three weeks, we started looking forward to those lessons. It was this sweet reminder that all of us could use refreshes and challenges in our relationships.”
And Joanna agrees, saying, “I feel like dancing is the most symbolic way of talking about, as a couple, ‘How do you stay in sync in life?’ We do really good in real life, we have our rhythm. But with dancing we were so off, it was surprising. We’ve done everything else so well, but this we totally suck at! But it was beautiful.”
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Chip & Joanna Gaines Are Getting ‘Stronger’ Together